READY TO MOVE PAST FLUFFY MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES? Scroll Down!

WANT PRACTICAL & CLIENT-TESTED TRANSITION STRATEGIES THAT WORK IN THE REAL WORLD?

How To Find Business Ideas

How do you find business ideas or what business should you even start?

If you are worried about coming up with (innovative) ideas from scratch or wondering if you are the entrepreneurial type, this video is for you!

Transcript:

Do you love the idea of being your own boss, being an entrepreneur, running your own company that you’re really passionate about, having nobody tell you what to do, just doing your own thing?

Then this video is absolutely for you.

Especially if your problem is that you don’t know what that business should be, you don’t know where to find business ideas or how to figure out what kind of business you could or would want to start.

I’ve got a very concrete strategy I’m going to share with you in this video, and it’s a strategy that’s responsible for several of my clients’ business ideas, several of the clients I’ve advised who are in their 30s and 40s, wanting to start their own business.

It’s a strategy called,

“What’s your version of Airbnb?”

Keep watching if you want to find out what that is.

Hey – I’m Rikke Hansen – I’ve had my own business since 2005.

I run an online career change consultancy where I advise smart professionals in their 30s and 40s on career change and on entrepreneurship, so the question of, “What business should I start?,” is one that I get on a daily basis.

If you are an aspiring career changer, or an aspiring entrepreneur, then make sure you subscribe to this channel, via the signup form below, so you can keep getting videos about how to figure out what you really want to do next.

It’s really frustrating when you are in the scenario where you know you want to start your own business, but you just don’t know what it is, and you have no idea how to figure it out or where to find business ideas.

So here’s the good news:

You do NOT have to come up with any new business ideas by yourself or from scratch!

I know often there is this idea that the entrepreneur, the business owner is very visionary, very creative and artistic…Comes up with ideas that never existed before in the history of humankind.

Don’t worry. I’m not like that. You don’t have to be like that.

As a matter of fact, it’s only the people we tend to hear about in the media that are really the outliers, like Steve Jobs, Arianna Huffington, Elon Musk. They’re the minority. Just leave them alone. You don’t have to be like that.

What I suggest you do is that you’re more like Picasso…

…Let me explain…

When I was in my early 20s, I moved to Paris. I didn’t speak a word of French, but hey, that’s the best way to learn, right?

I ended up living in the Marais, which is the area right next to the Picasso Museum – (Note – The Marais is a fantastic area – If you go to Paris, make sure you go to the Marais) – And one day I went to an exhibition there and came across a quote from Picasso – It was right next to these African masks that he’d been inspired by to do a painting of his own, and it said, and I quote Picasso here,

“Good artists copy. Great artists steal.”

It was a very good representation of what Picasso had done, because there was a representation of the African masks that have inspired him, and then the painting that he had painted after having seen these African masks, but it was still absolutely clear that painting was Picasso’s.

Even Picasso didn’t have an original idea – Think about that!

He just saw something, and then he decided to put his own mark on it.

(Note – This is NOT about appropriation or illegal theft – We are talking about taking inspiration from something existing as a starting point).

Apply that technique to finding your first business idea.

The way I do that with my career change clients, and the reason why I call it “What’s your version of Airbnb?”, is:

I ask my clients to go out there and look at existing companies.

Inc. 500 (or the expanded version Inc. 5000) is a fantastic resource for getting business ideas!!

It’s the list of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the U.S., and it changes every year.

Look at what are the kinds of companies that inspire the good kind of jealousy in you.

That make you go”Oh, man. I wish I’d done that!!”

What are the kinds of companies that consistently inspire the good kind of jealousies in you?

What do you feel excited about?

What is it that’s related to what you care about, your interest, your passions, the kinds of things you’re curious about?

Pull out the themes, and very quickly will you spot some red threads, themes and commonalities.

THE “WHAT’S YOUR VERSION OF AIRBNB?” CONCEPT:

The reason why I call this strategy, “What’s your version of Airbnb,”?

Let’s say you, for the first time, came across Airbnb in that list.

What if your idea was to take the concept called Airbnb, but put your spin on it?

It could be Airbnb for vegans, it could be Airbnb for gay couples, it could be Airbnb for families with lots of children and their unique challenges.

You take an existing concept, but then you put your own spin on it, either by your personality, a different interest, a different client group.

You do not have to invent anything from scratch.

As matter of fact, a client I had a number of years ago was a trader. All he knew was that he didn’t want to be a trader anymore. He had no idea what he wanted to do for his own business. In the Inc. 5000, he found several sport companies with endurance sports, and that’s what he ended up choosing to pick for his first business. I’ve got several other client stories like that.

Recap:

#1 Find business you really admire

Businesses that inspire the good kind of jealousy – Go on a hunt, just like Picasso would have gone on a hunt to find inspirations for his paintings. No need to invent the wheel from scratch.

#2 Put your unique spin on it

That’s the whole point. If you’re going to start your own business, you want to see some of yourself in there.

#3 Start test-driving it and putting it out there.

Before you know it, you’ll be well on your way.

Bear two things in mind here:

The Picasso Moment

+

“What YOUR version of Airbnb?”

Implement this and there is no reason why YOU should not find that business idea.

Enjoyed this post? Then you'll also love

About

HI! I'M RIKKE HANSENTransition Advisor, Entrepreneur & Speaker (AND a Danish Londoner). I help entrepreneurs in transition (new and experienced) nail down WHAT they really want to do. If you are looking for the frank advice, clarity and focus you need to make the right choice and move on, then let’s talk!